'Barefoot Bandit' nabbed

Suspect, 19, caught in Bahamas after 2 years on the run

NASSAU, Bahamas - For two years he stayed a step ahead of the law - stealing cars, powerboats and even airplanes, police say, while building a reputation as a 21st-century folk hero. On Sunday, Colton Harris-Moore's celebrity became his downfall.

Witnesses on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera recognized the 19-year-old dubbed the "Barefoot Bandit" and called police, who captured him after a high-speed boat chase, Bahamas Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade said at a news conference in Nassau, the capital.

Harris-Moore is blamed for several thefts in the Bahamas in the week since reportedly crash-landing a stolen plane there, and Bahamian authorities said he will be prosecuted for those crimes before the start of any U.S. extradition proceedings.

The 6-foot-5 Harris-Moore had been on the run since escaping from a Washington state halfway house in 2008. He is accused of breaking into dozens of homes and committing burglaries across Washington, as well as in British Columbia and Idaho. He is also suspected of stealing at least five planes - including the aircraft he reportedly lifted in Indiana and flew more than 1,000 miles to the Bahamas, despite a lack of training.

Island police had been searching for the teen since he reportedly crash-landed the plane on Abaco, where he was blamed for at least seven burglaries. The search expanded to Eleuthera after police there recovered a 44-foot powerboat reported stolen from Abaco. Police said several people reported seeing the young man Wednesday night in the waters between Eleuthera and Harbour Island, but did not know about the Bandit until after discovering a series of break-ins the next day. Harris-Moore's mistake was to return to the same area.

Greenslade said the high-speed chase began around 2 a.m. Sunday after police received tips from members of the public that the suspect was on Harbour Island. The chase ended in the waters off the Romora Bay Resort & Marina on Harbour Island, where security director Kenneth Strachan reported seeing a young man running through the bush barefoot with a handgun, according to Anne Ward, who manages the property.